


Bridges

by mitdemadlerimherzen



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, jedifest exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-09-07 03:42:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8781598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mitdemadlerimherzen/pseuds/mitdemadlerimherzen
Summary: Will Finn find the family he longs for?





	1. Bridges

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever Star Wars story, I hope you like it!  
> Rey, Finn, Poe, BB-8, Chewbacca, Leia Organa and everyone else from the canon I might have mentioned are property of Disney now. Everyone else is made up by me.

Finn woke up to the usual humming of machines, spacecrafts, droids, humans and other species around him. The door of his small but cozy room was solid but somehow thin and he heard strangers talk on the corridor as they walked by. A look on his alarm confirmed what he had already guessed. Five minutes until he had to get up anyway, so he blinked some sleep from his eyes and swung his feet off the bed.

After his usual morning routine – funny to call it that, since he had only adopted it after he woke up on the rebel base a few weeks ago – he exited his room and went to get some breakfast. On his way there he passed a couple of people he knew by face now, they greeted him friendly but shortly then went on their way. Everyone was so busy on the base, and Finn understood that, but he would have liked to stop and chat for a while. Sometimes he felt like he was back with the First Order, where everyone just saluted each other. 'Chats' – and personal relationships of any kind for that matter – where strongly discouraged at the Stormtrooper's bases. Finn had already gotten in trouble for being too softhearted on a fellow 'Trooper in the past. That had most likely been the turning point in his life, when he questioned if leaving a comrade – friend? – behind to die was the right thing to do.

That, and seeing said comrade actually die in their first official mission for the Order.

In the eating area he met a bunch of guys he'd had kitchen duty with a couple of times. Finn sat down with them and they told him news of the rebellion and the latest 'office' talk. Apparently Clarin – who mostly worked in the laundry – had been dumped by Jaro from Maintenance. Finn tried to picture their faces, but was unsure if he had ever even met one of them. While he appreciated the friendly gestures of the other guys, including him in their group and sharing news with him, he still felt out of sorts for not knowing who they were talking about most of the time. Still, he laughed with them for a while until they all had to go work their shifts.

'See you at dinner, Finn?' one of the guys, Ando, asked as they parted.

'Probably,' Finn answered and gave a short wave before he turned a corner towards his day's assignment.

The good thing was, after working at the base for a couple of weeks now, he slowly found his way around. He had to report to one of the smaller hangars that day and only got lost once. Upon arriving, he checked in with an Officer holding a clipboard.

'General Worf said you were good with a screwdriver?' the Officer asked and Finn nodded. He consulted his clipboard. 'Okay, we have Red Squadron back from a mission and-'

'Finn!'

Both Finn and the Officer looked round. A young man in a bright orange jumpsuit and dark messy hair was jogging towards them.

'Poe!' Finn brightened up considerably. Finally a _friend_.

Poe stopped in front of them and hugged Finn. He was beaming, too.

'Officer, may I request Finn working with me? I could use a hand repairing my ship,' Poe addressed the Officer.

'Fine with me,' the man responded and wrote something down on his clipboard.

Poe put his arm around Finn's shoulders and led him towards his X-Wing. While working on the ship they chatted amiably, Poe talking about his latest mission, Beebee-Eight beeping his input – which Finn did not understand a single code of – and Finn talking, after some urging from Poe, about life on the base.

On some accounts, life on the base was similar to that on a base of the First Order. People were always busy, the official talk was the kind you get from protocols, but during mealtimes people would gather in groups and talk about normal things. But on the Order's bases private talk was not encouraged. And even if it were allowed, Finn thought, what would they have talked about? None of the 'Troopers knew anything about themselves, beside being educated – drilled – at a base and brought up to be a Stormtrooper. They had no personal things, no personal _lives_.

But here, everyone had something to contribute. Finn was often asked to recount his tale of finishing Poe's mission, bringing Beebee-Eight to the rebels and meeting Han Solo and Chewbacca. The others had tales to tell from years of being with the resistance and the history of the Empire. Finn soaked it up eagerly, because every time someone told him a story from their lives, he felt like his own had been a complete lie.

He was far from feeling at home on the rebel base, but he felt like he might one day. He was still searching for his place among the people there.

Being with Poe made him feel more at home. They met every time Poe was on the base and talked about everything and nothing. The only person Finn longed to see, besides Poe, was Rey. He hadn't seen her since that fateful day on Starkiller Base. General Organa herself – Poe had told him all about her – had assured him that Rey was perfectly fine, but he missed her dearly.

A short time after lunch – eating sandwiches in the hangar – the officer with the clipboard approached Finn.

'Finn? You are required at the main hangar,' the man said. 'The Millennium Falcon is back.'

'Rey...' Finn felt his pulse speed up excitedly. He beamed and looked at Poe, who smiled. 'Are you coming, too?'

Poe looked at Beebee-Eight. 'What do you think, buddy?'

The little droid beeped enthusiastically.

The main hangar was buzzing with activity, but they took one look around and they spotted the Falcon in the far left corner. They hurried towards the ship when a shout and a roar from behind captured their attention.

They whirled around and were promptly engulfed in a big hug by none other than Rey. Chewbacca just put his warm hairy arms around the tangle of human limbs.

'Finally!'

'So good to see you!'

'How are you doing?'

'Where have you been?'

'I've missed you!'

'Rrrrugh arah-ah-woof...'

'Beep-bo-bee!'

It took a while for them to calm down enough to really talk. While Rey told them all about where they had been the past couple of weeks and Poe brought Rey and Chewie up to date on the rebellion, Finn just listened. Mainly he was content to just sit with his friends and _be with them,_ but a part of him still felt excluded, since he had nothing much to contribute. It made him feel alone, even while sitting with the people he had longed to be with for weeks, and he felt a pang of sadness. Would he ever really be a part of the group? The others knew so much about the galaxy and history and everything that was happening at the moment, but Finn? He had lived a lie, a lie he was raised into by the First Order and while he knew a lot about what was going on currently – how could he not, he lived on a rebel base – he didn't think it was his place to tell those stories.

'Finn?' Rey waved a hand in front of his eyes. 'Are you there?'

She looked worried. Finn forced a smile and nodded. 'Just thinking.'

'What have you been up to? How is life here? Poe said you woke up a couple weeks ago.'

Finn's smile slowly became genuine. It warmed his heart that she really seemed to want to know how he had been doing. So he talked about waking up and not knowing where he was, about meeting so many strange people, about not understanding a beep of droid, about working in the kitchen, the laundry, people being friendly but reserved, making acquaintances and finding his way. He conveniently did not talk about feeling apart from everything. How he felt like a stranger among all these people.

Rey seemed to read between the lines, though. 'Chewie and I have to go back soon,' she began and Finn's heart dropped. Surely, Poe would have to go on a new mission soon, too, and he would be alone again. He felt incredibly tired of this.

'Will you come with us?'

Finn looked up. Had he heard right? 'Me? But what for?'

Rey smiled. 'It's a big ship, we could use a third man. Besides, there's someone who wants to meet you.'

'You really want me? I mean, surely someone with more experience...' Finn started but Rey shook her head.

'No. I want you. You are my first friend, well except Beebee-Eight, and I trust you. I believe in you.'

Rey's words were so honest, Finn was truly touched. His heart beat up hopefully and he felt incredibly giddy all of a sudden. 'So, what do you say?'

She looked hopeful. _She really wants me to come,_ Finn thought. _Incredible._ He beamed.

'Yes, if you really want me to, I'll come.'

Rey grinned hugely and hugged him. 'You won't regret it.'

That evening, when Finn and Poe had finished their repairs on the X-Wing and Rey and Chewie had restocked their supplies on board the Falcon, they all met for dinner. They sat down with the guys Finn knew from the kitchen, swapped stories, shared jokes and for the first time since waking up all alone in a strange place, Finn felt like he truly belonged.


	2. Bonus Part: Jedi Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonus Chapter

'Come _on_ , Finn,' Rey grinned and pulled at his arm. She was headed towards the Falcon, dragging Finn – Poe, Beebee-Eight and Chewie following.

They entered the ship and Rey let go of his hand. He watched her rummaging around in the sitting area for a second and then she presented the flabbergasted Finn with an odd looking white ball and an old, battered helmet.

'If you want to become a Jedi, too, try practicing with this,' she said. She pushed a button on the ball and it began hovering by itself.

Finn frowned, skeptical, but took the helmet and Rey's offered lightsaber. The sphere started shooting light electrical shots. The first shot got him behind the knee, the second hit home on his left foot.

'Relax. Don't think. Just let the Force flow through you,' Rey instructed.

Finn breathed in deeply, and then out. His shoulders drooped a bit, and his grip around the handle of the saber relaxed slightly. The sphere rounded him once and then aimed at his backside. Finn whirled around so fast, Poe almost fell off the bench. He drew the lightsaber with him and pointed it downwards, effectively deflecting the shot from the sphere.

Rey cheered, while Poe and Chewbacca high-fived. Finn took off the helmet and looked at his friends excitedly.

“Did you see that? I got it! I got it!” He laughed.

The sphere seemed to be annoyed by this and shot at his backside anyway. This time, it hit.


End file.
